Restore state of edited files when reopened
When using vim/gvim, we often open many subwindows in one vim/gvim. but when we terminate vim/gvim, the subwindows, marks, and contents in registers will be lost. using the pasted contents below, we can keep all and bring us back to the original circumstance.when we reopen a file edited before, it seems we have never close them. it's very useful to develop projects. In /etc/vim/gvimrc, add the following two lines au VimLeave * mksession! ~/.vim/session/%:t.session au VimLeave * wviminfo! ~/.vim/session/%:t.viminfo write a script named gvims #!/bin/sh if [ -r ~/.vim/session/$1.session ]; then gvim "+source ~/.vim/session/$1.session" "+rviminfo ~/.vim/session/$1.viminfo" else gvim $1 fi Comments I'd recommend you to check v:this_session before saving the session. If you edit many files within single session, the way your tip works will depend on the buffer you're in when performing :qa. You will probably have a session-file saved for each buffer your session contains, because %:t will expand to different names in different buffers. ---- Nice suggestion! I now use: add the following two lines to /etc/vim/gvimrc or /etc/vim/gvimrc.local au VimLeave * exe ' if strlen(v:this_session) | exe "wviminfo! " . v:this_session . ".viminfo" | else | wviminfo! ~/.vim/session/%:t.session.viminfo | endif ' au VimLeave * exe 'if strlen(v:this_session) | exe "mksession! " . v:this_session | else | mksession! ~/.vim/session/%:t.session | endif ' shellscript gvims: #!/bin/sh if [ -r ~/.vim/session/$1.session ]; then gvim "+source ~/.vim/session/$1.session" "+rviminfo ~/.vim/session/$1.session.viminfo" else gvim $1 fi Improve it again. au VimLeave * exe ' if strlen(v:this_session) | exe "wviminfo! " . v:this_session . ".viminfo" | else | exe "wviminfo! " . "~/.vim/session/" . g:myfilename . ".session.viminfo" | endif ' au VimLeave * exe 'if strlen(v:this_session) | exe "mksession! " . v:this_session | else | exe "mksession! " . "~/.vim/session/" . g:myfilename . ".session" | endif ' script gvims: #!/bin/sh if [ -r ~/.vim/session/$1.session ]; then gvim "+source ~/.vim/session/$1.session" "+rviminfo ~/.vim/session/$1.session.viminfo" else gvim "+let g:myfilename = \"$1\" " fi If we start with a project named "storm", just enter the command "gvims storm", then gvim will open a empty windows. Do what you want to do in gvim. If you have to stop your work for some reasons, just type ":wa", then ":qa" and leave. When you want to continue your work sometime later, just enter "gvims storm". Everything is just restored. In addition, using "g:myprojectname" instead of "g:myfilename" above should be more better. ---- The scripts above is optimized to avoid the conflict between gvim and gvims. in gvimrc or gvimrc.local au VimLeave * exe 'if exists("g:cmd") && g:cmd "gvims" | if strlen(v:this_session) | exe "wviminfo! " . v:this_session . ".viminfo" | else | exe "wviminfo! " . "~/.vim/session/" . g:myfilename . ".session.viminfo" | endif | endif ' au VimLeave * exe 'if exists("g:cmd") && g:cmd "gvims" | if strlen(v:this_session) | exe "mksession! " . v:this_session | else | exe "mksession! " . "~/.vim/session/" . g:myfilename . ".session" | endif | endif' #!/bin/sh if [ -r ~/.vim/session/$1.session ]; then gvim "+source ~/.vim/session/$1.session" "+rviminfo ~/.vim/session/$1.session.viminfo" "+let g:cmd = \"gvims\" " "+command Noprj let g:cmd = \"\" " else gvim "+let g:myfilename = \"$1\" " "+let g:cmd = \"gvims\" " "+command Noprj let g:cmd = \"\" " fi What if I want to open a file in vim and want the cursor back at the beginning of the first line, instead of where it was before Ieft in the previous edit? Also, what to do to reset the search string used last time? ---- If want the cursor back to the first line, use this in vimrc: au BufWinEnter * exe 'normal gg' You can even let the cursor go to arbitrary line you want, check this one: au BufWinEnter * exe 'normal 6gg' This entry let the cursor go to the 6th line. ---- Alternative: session.vim plug-in The session.vim plug-in ( ) extends the concepts on this page into a more full featured session manager that supports automatic session management (using a `default' session), manual session management (using named sessions) and restoring of dynamic windows created by plug-ins such as and .